In the context of surgery, when there is a need to section at least a portion of an organ, the surgeon needs to suture the portion of the organ that remains in the patient's body, and possibly also the other portion (which is to be removed or displaced). To do this, the surgeon generally makes use of a suture clamp; suture clamps of known type are generally linear cutting staplers that possess at least one blade or knife and that can be refilled with refills so as to enable several stapling actions to be performed while an operation is taking place. The refills may possibly be of different types, in particular so as to make it possible to have staples of different sizes from one refill to another.
Means that constitute reinforcement for a suture are put into place in order to reinforce the zone that has been sectioned and that runs the risk of being damaged, in particular the risk of being torn under the stapling action, specifically when the organ is a distended or inflamed intestine, or the risk of not being closed off, in particular when pulmonary tissue is involved.
In known reinforcement devices, a sleeve of optionally resorbable fabric surrounds the ends of an automatic suture clamp so that when the staples are put into place, the fabric is engaged by the staples and prevents them from sinking into the zone for treatment.
However such reinforcement sleeves are difficult to keep in position on the jaws of the clamp.